Court Rules Suspended Michigan Judge Kahlilia Davis Can Run For Judgeship But Can’t Hear Cases Until 2029

Suspended Michigan Judge Kahlilia Davis is suspended until 2029. However, a Michigan Court of Claims judge has allowed her name to appear on the November 2026 ballot. Yet, she will not being able to take the bench for another three years.

The ruling on Thursday comes after former Detroit 36th District Court Judge Kahlilia Davis filed a lawsuit asking the Court of Claims to allow her name to be on the ballot. However,  even though she cannot take the bench until 2029.

The Michigan Secretary of State declined to certify Davis’ candidacy on April 30th.

Michigan Court of Claims Judge Robert Redford ruled the suspended Michigan Judge was allowed to run. Redford ruled that the Michigan Supreme Court did not rule that Davis was barred from running for office.

Redford stated:

“The electorate’s constitutional right to support and vote for K. Davis, if they so choose, must be respected,” Redford wrote. “This language specifically contemplates that K. Davis might run for office and be elected, or apply and be appointed to fill a vacancy, and dictates what will occur in that event: she will be debarred from exercising the power and prerogatives of the judicial office until the expiration of her suspension.”

Redford said the Secretary of State must review the 2026 candidacy filing of the suspended Michigan. He also ruled that SOS must not consider the 2024 Court of Claims ruling that found her ineligible to run because of the suspension.

If Davis’ name is put back on the ballot, there will be four judicial hopefuls running for three non-incumbent six-year judicial terms.

Daniel Wholihan, Davis’ attorney, said in May the voters should be able to decide who their judge is in Detroit.

Suspended Michigan Judge Kahlilia Davis Can Run For Office

Robert Davis, who filed a separate lawsuit with the Court of Claims seeking to have Davis disqualified from the ballot, said he understands Redford’s legal analysis but disagrees with his opinion. He said he plans to file another lawsuit in the coming days because Kahlilia Davis allegedly submitted a false statement in her identity affidavit regarding being in compliance with the Michigan Campaign Finance Act.

Robert Davis told the Detroit News:

“It’s absolutely a slap in the face to the citizens of the City of Detroit and those who fund the 36th District Court. That’s the busiest court in the state of Michigan and they need every single judge fully engaged. For her to run, knowing she can’t serve, and that court needs every judge to serve, is truly a slap in the face to the citizens of Detroit. She’s being really disrespectful and intellectually disingenuous.”

Robert Davis said the actions of the suspended Michigan Judge show she lacks the temperament and capacity to be a judge:

“Why would you seek to occupy a seat that you can’t serve on? That’s going to cause, if she were to be elected, which I don’t believe she would be, it would cause a severe backlog at 36th District Court.”

The Michigan Supreme Court suspended Kahlilia Davis after she was found to have engaged in a pattern of misconduct on the bench. The high court initially suspended Davis in June 2020. The suspended Michigan Judge has not been on the bench since.

Suspended Michigan Judge Kahlilia Davis’ Misconduct On The Bench Was Pervasive

The Supreme Court determined in 2023 that Davis’ misconduct was “pervasive.” 

It included the continued abuse of contempt powers in two different cases. She also granted multiple summary dismissals of cases where a particular process server Davis did not trust was used. The suspended Michigan Judge also intentionally disconnected recording equipment in her courtroom. In addition she used her personal cellphone to record of proceedings in her courtroom.

The Supreme Court found that much of her misconduct was done while she was on the bench or in her capacity as a judge. The high court also found her behavior also impacted and prejudiced the administration of justice. In addition, the court found the conduct of the suspended Michigan judge undermined the ability of the justice system to find the truth or reach the most just result in a case.

The court also found Davis dismissed claims that potentially had merit. People were not able to properly appeal decisions because there was no transcript of hearings or recording from which a transcript could have been generated.

Davis’ term as judge in Detroit’s 36th District Court expired in January 2023. However, the suspended Michigan judge did not run for reelection. The Michigan Secretary of State determined she lied on her affidavit of identity and therefore was not eligible.

The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission accused the suspended Michigan judge of misconduct on two occasions. The JTC cited her in March 2020 for holding court proceedings without hearings being on the record. The new filing was an amendment of the 2020 case, so there was no determination on it.

Davis has been under fire since just after her term began in January 2017. She did not work for the first few months of her term and told WJBK she had an infection after surgery. As a result, she did not want to put the courthouse at risk. Former Chief Judge Nancy Blount removed Davis from her docket in October 2017 because of her “demonstrated inability” to do her job.

Blount also ordered Davis in February 2019 to not bring any weapons to work, required her to go through a security screening before entering the courthouse and banned her from using the judge’s door. A month later, Blount banned Davis from hearing cases because she was not using video recording equipment during hearings.